Four Reasons Why China Has No Desire To See The World 'De-Americanized'

This week, China's Xinhua news agency released a mysterious "op-ed" calling on the world to "de-Americanize."

It was a lot of the usual talking points: the U.S. meddles too much in other countries' affairs, it is guilty of moral hypocrisy — and the latest wrinkle, that the U.S. Government shutdown makes it unworthy of the world stage.

More importantly, it is highly unlikely the Chinese themselves actually believe this — not least because, according to Tealeaf Nation's Liz Carter, if something appears in Xinhua with a formal byline (as was the case here), it means it only represents that individual's opinion.

Here are four additional reasons why China has no desire to see the world "de-Americanized."

China has been asking the U.S. to step up its role in the Middle East

China just became the world's largest oil importer, and it really doesn't want to see oil prices rise. And they're willing to put money where their mouth is to prevent that from happening.

"In meetings since at least last year, Chinese officials have sought to ensure U.S. commitment to the region isn't wavering, particularly as the Obama administration has pledged to rebalance some of its strategic focus toward East Asia, said people familiar with those discussions."

Few analysts think there was any sign of this happening in the first place, given, for instance, the U.S. just considered bombing Syria.

But the report seriously undermines the "de-Americanize" premise.

Chinese love American brands

KFC was the first-ever fast-food restaurant in China (they opened in 1987) and remains the country's No. 1 chain, according to Yum! Brands, with more than 4,400 restaurants in 850 cities. Pizza Hut, meanwhile, is China's No. 1 casual dining location. Not surprisingly, Yum! says they are the country's leading retail developer.

China will remain our largest creditor for generations

Per the IBTimes, China owned $1.28 trillion-worth of U.S. Treasuries in July, more than any other nation, and holds about $3.5 trillion in dollar-denominated assets. Last year we imported $426 billion-worth of Chinese goods, a nominal record, and are already on pace to break that figure this year. As Time's Dan Kedmey recently reported, "China must cling to its faith that the U.S. will eventually pay back its loans. 'Every creditor believes that they can,' said Ma Guangyuan, a Beijing-based economist. "They believe that even more than Americans do, because they have no choice. If the creditors don’t believe America can pay them back, then the global economy would collapse.”